Alchemy Bar Review (Taipei)

This past summer, I started out a bit late in a bar hop in which the bars seemed to become progressively better with each jump. I joined about midpoint, meeting up with everyone else at a bar called Motown in Taipei (which also has its own bottling with the same name accordingly). The staff and the place was nice, but a review for another occasion.

Anyways, after a few drinks, we decided to change locations to the one in mention – Alchemy. Not quite sure where I was, being that we shared a taxi, we approached a door with two distinct names in white lights and a podium outside.

I was not sure what to expect on the inside, but when we stepped in, there was a beautiful young woman that met us another podium and asked a few questions. Busy taking pictures, I let the other members of the party handle that. (apparently we needed a reservation, but didn’t have one). Once inside, I looked through the door to the left and saw a fully stocked bar arranged in a circular formation in the middle of the room. Assuming this was our destination, I proceeded towards it, only to notice that everyone else kept walking straight.

Torn between correcting myself and continuing into this bar, I decided to continue to tail everyone else, entering into a very spacious room with several beer pong tables set up. I wondered how we could have gone from one bar, passed up another, only to arrive at a place to play beer pong.

Standing in the doorway, pondering going back through the other door to order drinks and enjoy some hard alcohol while everyone else enjoyed beer, I noticed that once again, everyone had made a hard right through a seemingly hidden door.

This door lead to a narrow stair case, and once inside, I recognized the familiar buzz and the door lock behind me as if this were my former life frequenting a weed spot in North Philly. I knew that we were either locked in, or this door had to be unlocked from our final destination. Not certain what to expect, the staircase opened up to a door inside a third door that was completely hidden, a cave that housed a 1920s style speakeasy.

To my amazement, this bar was extremely nice and discrete, being honest, I don’t tend to give my personal opinion, but I must admit, it is one of the nicest bars I have ever been to. The décor of the leather chairs, fireplace and mantel that are placed almost directly in front of the door, give it the feel of a gentleman’s den. Immediately to the right of the door is the bar, whereas facing the door are a series of tables and chairs with windows behind them.

Turning right and walking towards the end of the bar, the establishment begins to open up, showcasing a piano and several isolated booths, perfect for private parties of 6- 8 people. Eventually this path makes its way to the rear of the parlor, concluding at the bathroom.

To the left of the fireplace there is a door that leads to a slightly loft where people are able to overlook both the beer pong tables and the circular bar below.

This night, the place was almost fully packed (which explains the requirement for prescheduled reservations). The atmosphere is dimly lit, resembling a speakeasy, with the music to match. This place is definitely suitable to be considered a final destination for the evening, or a place where its possible to sit and talk for the duration of the evening without having to find another form of entertainment.

It was a bit difficult to determine if it was possible to randomly meet members of the opposite sex there as the arrangement of the chairs, tables and interactions between customers made it confusing as to who was with each other – although the bar did have a surplus of single women. After remaining there until closing, and having to be asked to leave, all of us, had wished that we would have arrived at this bar first.